Meetings-with-A-Dhamma-Master

S uzanne Je ff reij information for them to know. The teacher must try to make the information relevant for the student, finding some way to make the information vital for their lives, according to the student’s understanding. The teacher must prioritize the teaching so that all relevant information is given, and finally the teacher must be able to connect and combine the teachings together, to synthesize it and to help the student synthesize it. And, the teacher must do this all with patience and discipline. If you cannot do this, then the student can­ not learn. “Now the student has to be respectful toward the teacher, as well as patient, and quiet - and if all of these things are in place, then the learning environment is conducive to healthy discovery. You must understand the objective of the teaching, whether or not it is righteous and good, how worthy it is to practice or follow, is it for everyone or only for a group, examine a way to implement it, and when to ask why? First, we must ask what? And then we must ask why? “The students must then follow the teachers thoroughly with respect, patience, and dis­ cipline because we are passing along pertinent knowledge to them. So they must have a willingness to follow the teachings of the teacher. This might be easy or difficult. Students must also have the willingness to persevere, then focus on doing it, and then develop the practice even further so that one day they can be as good as, or better than, the teacher! “Then comes the question of How? We have already addressed What? and Why?, and now we need to ask the question that implements it all - How? So, to repeat: Here are the steps of implementation: (1) Ask the question of who or whom? Who is my own role model? Who should be my children’s? Who should be my children’s teacher? Where is that teacher located? (2) Ask questions about the overview of the curriculum - the what? Ask it directly from the teacher. (3) Ask why they do or do not learn the material, and finally, (4) How? How is all of it implemented in the classroom in order for it to be successful and for the entire learning process to be realized. “Now from all of this, we start to see the process of learning and we are drawn into this cycle until we have knowledge. If we clearly know the objectives, we can follow all of the teachings to reach our potential (with good habits) until we finally come to self­ reliance. “This is the process of learning. This all comes from Buddhist teachings, but in order 100 www.kalyanamitra.org

Me-- •tine.s with a Dnaiarna M;iel e r to put this into practice, it takes a lot of practice. So, we see that good habits + good teachings + meditation = self-reliance. “In Buddhism, there is an overview of knowledge that we learn from the top: We learn about it from the Buddha’s enlightenment, or the process of Buddha’s enlightenment. Through meditation, we see the path that the Buddha has laid out for us. Even just learning about visualizing a bright object took the Buddha six years to do this. But he started with the realization that there was Body + Mind. And, then, that if the mind can be still, or sabai, in the beginning, then we can find happiness. But not only happiness, brightness as well. “What we call wisdom, and the way to seek it, we learn by the following three ways: (1) From listening or reading. This wisdom really comes from memorizing and is rather superficial. (2) From contemplation, analysis, and thinking. (3) From meditation, from a standstill mind and from inner brightness. Throughout our lives, we usually have the first two types. But real wisdom comes from the third type: Meditation. “Meditation is that state of mind that is still, firmly inside of the body. When the mind becomes still we can then say that we are meditating. The Buddha, of course, always has a still inner mind. We do not. We need to be meditating on the inside, not the outside, and this is called right concentration, or right meditation. Anger, greed and delusion oc­ cur in the mind but outside of the body. If we do outside meditation, the mind will be standing firmly in the wrong place! And this is called ‘wrong meditation’. Why do we observe our breath? We don’t really need to do this, but we do it because we cannot see the mind. We can observe the abdomen or observe the breath, to get the mind to firmly be inside the body. When we can do this, people call it obtaining the first absorption or jhana. So the first absorption is when the mind is still and we feel happy or joyful. In the second jhana, there is a feeling of brightness in- side, but we are not really thinking about it. Our self-illuminesence starts to develop. This happens because we are meditat­ ing at the center of gravity, or the center of our body. The Buddha re-discovered this over 2,600 years ago! Then, the brightness becomes more intense, our physical tension disappears, and we develop equanimity. There are no distractions in our meditation, and mindfulness is observed. This is the third jhana. After we practice more and more, we reach understanding only if we bring the mind inside the body through meditation. And that is meditation! Keeping the mind inside and still. And, where there is action, there is also reaction. So in meditation, we can then see the refinement of the mind. 101 www.kalyanamitra.org

Suzanne Jeffrey “For example, let us suppose that we are lighting a candle. When we do this, three things happen: first, there is brightness. Second, heat is generated around it. Third, there is combustion. Why, in lighting a candle, do these three things happen? It is the same in meditation. Things happen. With a candle, we want brightness. In cooking, we want heat. “Meditation is all about brightness. And mindfulness is generated by the heat or com­ bustion. Combustion is the effort... the Right Effort (on the eightfold path). Everything happens together at the same time: Effort, Mindfulness, and Meditation. Everything together. “At the fourth jhana, you get rid of sadness or suffering, and you are able to attain indif­ ference which is beyond happiness or unhappiness. Since this feeling is beyond hap­ piness, there is no word to explain it. Words can only explain the abstraction, but they cannot reach the feelings, so we really cannot find the words to explain the fourth jhana. Because we cannot explain some things, we have developed the following chart about languages: illustration #J 102 www.kalyanamitra.org

Mcvrsn^s with a Dhanima M aster [Luang Por then draws the circle within the circle that follows, regarding languages...] “As you can see, the language of the mind is far greater than any other language. And, because of this, the Buddha cannot explain all things: There are limitations in language and our ability to speak and write is limited. “The human being is made up of four elements: earth, water, fire, and wind. But they are all impure and expire in time. If we let them expire, we will die. We breathe, for example, because we must refuel the wind element. Because we are impure, we refuel continuously. But the mind is a knowing element that is invisible to the physical eyes. We can only see it by using our inner brightness. But what, we might ask, does the mind look like? “In the beginning of human life, the parents come together to bring about the human be­ ing’s existence. Now the human body has special qualifications: we can stand upright, we can lie down to sleep, and we can position ourselves in many directions. No other animal can do this. We are fortunate to be bom human because it is very difficult to get here, into a human body. You should think of all of the animals in this world, and then realize that to be bom human is not very common - in fact, it is pretty extraordinary. So we should never use our body to do bad things. We should use this body to only do good things because we have to return it. “Now the mind is the knowing element, as I have just said. The mind resides in the hu­ man body and always needs that body in which to reside. Otherwise, without the mind, the body would be dead. The mind is crystal clear when we are bom, but it becomes dirty when it is mixed with greed, anger, and delusion. But, in reality, the mind is the master of the body and can be seen to sensitive eyes in meditation. “The mind is spherical-shaped about the size of a person’s eye socket, and is built layer within layer within layer. The outer layer is called perception and it is based on the five senses: seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting, and touching. When the mind receives infor­ mation, it is that information in which we perceive something is happening. It is that form of knowing that comes when we superficially perceive information in a specific set­ ting. The next layer as we go into the inner layer is memorization. This is like a video/ CD/DVD player that can memorize everything that is going on around us. It records all sounds, visuals, and videos perfectly because the mind is refined as an element - not like the body. The third layer is the thinking layer, and the fourth layer is the knowing part of the mind in which we synthesize all of the information that we have previously known www.kalyanamitra.org 103

Suzanne Jeffrey illustration #8 and amalgamate them for true understanding. “Of course, the mind works properly if all things are working properly. But, as we are aware, nothing is really always working perfectly. If we receive the wrong input, then everything else is input incorrectly. If we are drunk, or sick, or angry, or in the wrong environment, then all of the information we receive goes into our mind incorrectly. And that is why meditation is so important, because it cleans the mind. The same thing hap­ pens to students, of course, and you need to remember this. “This information is from the Buddha, because He could see His own mind and what it looked like, and He could see His past lives and the past lives of other people as well. This was the first supreme enlightenment: He could see the structure of the mind, and He could see His past lives. “The second supreme enlightenment was when He saw the mind become dark because of greed, anger, and delusion. Remember that when the mind is still, without defilements, it is clear, more free, more firm. But when it is not, when the mind has defilement, then we begin to do evil things. At the time of the second supreme enlightenment, the Buddha 104 www.kalyanamitra.org

discovered the Law of Kamma. He was not the creator of the Law, but the re-discoverer of the Law of Kamma. All beings who do evil or wrong things will discover the Law of Kamma after death, if not before. This discovery comes from seeing with the inner brightness of our mind. When evil people die, and we ask about where they are (in Heaven or Hell) we will not be able to point to them, but we will be able to see them when we meditate. This is the time that the Buddha saw Heaven and Hell. So we will be able to see Hell in one of two ways: (1) Meditate, increase our brightness, and see what it is like, and (2) Do bad/evil things, and go see it for yourself, experience it yourself. Here, the Buddha witnessed birth and death. “The third supreme enlightenment occurred when the Buddha brought His mind to a to­ tal standstill and saw the accumulated defilements from all lifetimes. He brought to His mind all of these and discovered the Four Noble Truths and the method to end suffering, which is the Eightfold Noble Path. At this stage, He could see and know both. After He knew this, His mind was free: It was free not to be bom, free from ignorance, and He knew that He knew He was free from rebirth.” With this, the session is over. We wait for Luang Por who is now smiling to the crowd, bow to the Buddha, and exit the conference room. There are several English speakers, so we have Luang Pi Pasura and Luang Pi Joshua as our translators. We also have delicious Thai food awaiting us for lunch! 2PM -13 March 2010 This is a time for Questions and Answers. We have been asked to write them down on a piece of paper and submit them to Luang Por’s secretary. Luang Por will then decide which are the most relevant, and answer those questions. Q: Could we discuss more about the Buddha’s enlightenment that we talked about this morning and what happened during the process? A: The Buddha saw Hell and Heaven because of the brightness from inside of His mind. If He saw the mind and the defilements of the mind, then He must be in a celestial body. This is the inner body, or the body within the body. If you meditate, you will see it. Sometimes, for example, you see a body in a dream. That is your astral body, but your light astral body. You can see it clearly in your dreams, but when you get up, you don’t see it again. But, if you practice, you will be able to see it again. You have not just your www.kalyanamitra.org 105

Suzanne Jeffrey astral body, but other bodies as well. If you look at light through a prism, you will see seven different colors. It is like that: the bodies are there, but unless you shine a light through them, you will not see them. Your celestial body will return to you when you keep the precepts. But if you do not, and your body becomes twisted or drunk or angry or greedy, you will be bom differently. Celestial beings are part of this. It is your job to tell your students about this. If they deny it without proof, then they are simply stubborn. They have the method to prove it for themselves! Ever since the time of the Buddha, people had more than one body. Once you meditate, you will find this out for yourself. Q: Was the Buddha seeing His mind with celestial bodies? And then He could see defilements, or kilesa? A: Remember that the body is made up of the four impure elements, and the mind is a refined element. But the mind can get extremely dirty due to defilements. So there are impure elements that can become attached to the mind. We can, of course, see this for ourselves. But defilements are manifested in the mind. Ever since we were bom, defilements have been with us because they came with us from past lifetimes. This is called accumulated defilements. The more we have, the more we have defilements that continue to cloud our mind. But it depends on the shade of glasses that we wear. After the Buddha practiced, He got rid of defilement because He realized that defile­ ments were a twisted perception that caused us to speak and act badly. Defilements are an eternal enemy, but not a living organism. It can, however, spread like rust and that is how defilements deteriorate the mind. You can ask ‘why?’ but that is its nature. If you want to leam more - because language is a limitation - then you need to meditate. We know how germs attack the body. And what causes us to be sick, and perhaps to kill us. Well, defilement is the same, except that it follows us from lifetime to lifetime. The mind becomes infected and we begin to think badly and that becomes a bad habit over a period of time. When we think, speak, and act badly, the habit becomes more difficult to break. So when we die, defilements follow us into another world through the mind. Bad habits also follow us, and that is why bad habits undermine the mind. And how do we get rid of defilement? How do we eradicate defilements? 106 www.kalyanamitra.org

M eetings w ith a Phanirna M, iarer If we are not mindful, then defilements become even more apparent to us. We must bring together concentration, effort, and meditation. They must all come together. The Buddha eradicated His own defilements by first recollecting his past lives. Suppose we imagine a perfect sphere like the world. As the sun comes up, the brightness slowly chases the darkness away until it becomes noon and then there is brightness all around. But as the sun sets, darkness comes again. The light chases the dark away. To get rid of defilements, we must live in the light. If we had the power, we could stop the sun and make the world bright all of the time, but that would not be fair to the people who live on the other side of the world because they would be in darkness all of the time. So we need to meditate and bring each individual’s light into the world. We need to put the world in the middle of the sun and have brightness all of the time, for everyone. The origin of Buddhism sought to answer this question. After His enlightenment, the Buddha realized that the human being was composed of three things, not two. The body + the mind + Dhamma. Here, Dhamma has many meanings. Usually, Buddhists know only one meaning and that is the teachings of the Buddha. But the word means ‘pure nature’ that exists within each human being that is discoverable through meditation. So. What is Dhamma? It is pure nature that exists within the human body. If we can still the mind, then we can attain and be one with our pure nature - the Dhamma. And, if we can be pure with the Dhamma, we can be pure permanently. And Dhamma has another name: Nibbana within the human body. But you have to train yourself to see it. The monks who come to ordain want to attain this Dhamma. The mind is invisible to the human eyes, but you can see it with your inner eyes. The Dhamma has many levels: Nibbana is the most pure. It is the duty of each Buddhist to discover the Dhamma by him/herself. But don’t ask me why - it just is. Just nature. Q: What do we need to know about defilements? A: Just like the river is filled with fish, if we don’t get rid of bad habits, our mind will be filled with defilements. We are attracted to defilements like fish to water. If our mind is under the power of defilements, the mind loses the ability to clean itself. The mind travels out of the body and travels to attach itself to defilements. www.kalyanamitra.org 107

Suzanne Jeffrey Defilements are individual, so getting rid of defilements is a personal journey. But we, as teachers, can help if we teach students good habits. Defilements can force the mind to think, speak, and act badly. So we always need to put our mind into the Dhamma. Q: What is the crisis of human life? A: The most critical time in a human life is the time when the umbilical cord is cut: We cannot move, we have nothing. This is the crisis moment of human life: THE critical moment of our life unless we have good parents who take care of us. We are bom with ignorance, and we have nothing. Plus, our past defilements that we are bom with force the mind to do bad things. This causes two main problems: (1) How do we survive, and (2) How do we deal with conflict, one to another. We must look thoroughly into the educational process when we deal with these two problems. But, even after studying them, we never think about how we need to refine the elements. And we can’t refine the elements because we start with the wrong questions. Here is an example: Why do we eat? We eat because of energy and repair and growth. When the question is deep, then we need to answer deeply. What are the pure elements outside of the body. Look at a plate of rice. Is it pure? Does it have good nutrition? Was it purchased or was it stolen? When you eat it, what do you do with it? How are you using it? You need to look at the purity of the elements involved. If we put water into a cup, how are we involved with the process? People who are angry and those who are not have different molecules that line up differently. Remember that nothing is pure naturally, nor is the intention to use it pure. By the time our umbilical cord is cut, we have to rely on ourselves - we are our own ref­ uge. In food alone, with each sip of milk, we have five “ingredients” to think about: (1) Quality, or is it of superior value and worth, (2) Quantity, or is it too much or too little, (3) Technique, or how are we eating the food and is it done with anger or sadness, happi­ ness orjoy, (4) Timing, or when and how often the milk is given, and (5) Environment, or where it is given. All five of these ingredients result in the physical health of the receiver, and, more importantly, are the major contributors in the formation of habits. Fitting all of these together is kind of scary. We need to look back at ourselves and our own habits. After all, we are teaching people, influencing them and their habits. In addressing the problem of living together we have to look at what everyone has learned 108 www.kalyanamitra.org

Meetings with a Dhamnia M aster at home and what they are bringing into the classroom. And, how many bad habits can we actually fix? The teachers tend to blame the parents and the parents blame the teach­ ers, particularly if the children grow up to be bad people. But this all comes from human defilements, ignorance and impure elements - and, of course, from using the wrong methodology. So, we could say that ignorance + living together defilements! If we develop ethics correctly (and other things, too, of course) then we help to develop a great child. But it also depends on how he can develop himself. True knowledge about the nature of life is something that we learn if we really want to get rid of problems. And vice versa: when we learn it, then we can choose. Education is missing a certain piece. And that is the ethical and moral development of the child. No one can guarantee the ‘wisdom’ or habits or ethics of the graduate from college or university because they do not know about the mind. The Buddha gave us a standard and that is the qualification of a person who has a good education is a person: (1) responsible for his own mistakes or, the opposite, his own awareness and mindfi.il- ness, (2) responsible for the morality of society and (3) responsible for the economy of morality. When a person follows the first four precepts, he or she will not hurt others, and will be responsible for his own morality. That person will not hurt others in any way, through physical force or malicious slander, and follow the eight fold path. When the person becomes responsible for society, he or she will stay away from people with prejudice and/or bias due to love, hate, fear, or ignorance. And, when we talk about the economy of morality, we are talking about how we must not follow the path to our own decay: drinking, dishonest nightlife, corrupt entertainment, gambling, associating with bad people, and laziness. These are indeed the road to ruin. If the economy is good at a school, then young people don’t worship money as god, and then a little drinking does not lead to more drinking, and gambling does not lead to more gambling. But, we need to teach young people how to take responsibility for their own actions. Humans, of course, need companionship. And we are surrounded by people on every level with which to obtain this companionship. But we need people who are surround­ ing us to be moral and ethical people because the qualities that we are looking for in our companions do not simply drop down from the sky. We have to be responsible for our outside environment, just as we are responsible for our inside environment. So we need to be responsible for our own six directions: our parents, our teachers, our (spiritual) leaders, our family, our colleagues, and our friends. Each person has their own six direc­ 109 www.kalyanamitra.org

Suzanne J e ffret] tions, although in the beginning of our life, when we are developing our habits, our six directions give us total input - in other words, we are in-taking all the information that will be the key factors to our self-development and habit-building. But as we grow and mature, these six directions become interactive and the people around us learn from us as well. Further, whoever has the better standards in life is more successful. So we need to develop ourselves in our own six directions so that we are moral, ethical people in order to be successful. We can see the Dhamma by practicing the eight fold noble path. Because the Buddha meditated and saw his own mind, He then saw everyone else’s mind. He could see the defilements in his mind and then in the minds of others - those defilements cause us to see, speak and act badly. Sometimes, when we look at an object in the dark, we cannot see it clearly. But the Buddha could see clearly the goodness and the evilness in other people. The Buddha saw and knew the unwholesomeness in others. There are three main actions that are considered immoral actions: killing, stealing, and adultery. Those are corrupt actions of the body. But there are also corrupt verbal actions as well. And they are: lying, using harsh speech, causing conflict through speech, and idle chatter or gossip. These unwholesome actions lead to vengeance and having the wrong view. So the Buddha gave us the clear cut scale of what is good and what is bad. The Buddha could also understand the Law of Kamma and what would be perceived as good and bad action. As I said, the Buddha was not the creator of the Law of Kamma, but the re-discoverer. Unfortunately, most people don’t study this law and they don’t know how to use the existing laws that we have. The Buddha also saw the celestial realms that He perceived in meditation. He saw the ignorance that causes all of the bad actions in the world: Ignorance manifested in the mind. Then He saw the Four Noble Truths and saw, upon enlightenment, that even the mind is impure. Since the body deteriorates, and the mind has defilements, we must put our mind in the middle of the Dhamma. And this is done through repeated meditation. Then the mind will stay within the Dhamma permanently. But for most of us, defilements take us out of this state. It is best, of course, to start your meditation practice before the age of 50, because then we have better meditation. Age triggers things within the body that do not help us with our meditation and we tend to fall asleep more easily. Plus, our body cannot meditate as easily for long periods of time. So we need to practice meditation as soon as possible for as long as possible. 110 www.kalyanamitra.org

Meetings with a D ham mo M aster [ With this, he smiles because many o f the people in the room are past 50. And they are groaning at the thought that they are passed the meditation stage.] If we can eradicate 50% of our defilements, then we will eventually go to Nibbana. At 60-70% we will become a stream-enterer, at 90% we will become a non-returner, and at 100%, we will become an Arahant. So we need to keep on practicing in order to reach enlightenment. Ignorance, as I have said, is the source of defilement, along with anger and delusion. Feeling is the symptom of defilement. And Anger is the result of defilement; it is not the defilement itself. Our true duty, of course, is to get rid of suffering. Q: How do we get rid of defilement when we have to work and earn a living? A: It all starts with the Right View. There are, of course, side effects of any job. If you look at any occupation - policeman, attorney, judge, fisherman, and so on - every job has its problems. So you have to accept these as facts. Perhaps the problem is fame, or diet, or clothing: each occupation has its own kamma. Working and earning a living at the same time challenges most people, but not many jobs have the same advantages as teachers. Teaching gives you the opportunity to create good energy: Helping other people gain knowledge and develop good habits is a gift. With the Right View, and following the Eightfold Noble Path, you will eventually reach Nibbana. It is a circuitous route starting with the Right View, and you as teachers are part of instilling the Right View within your students. No matter how good or bad your students are, you have to show them respect just as they have to show you respect. And you will need to teach this from the very beginning. You will also need to instill in them the desire and importance of only seeing the good in others. You must observe their behavior and their manners, and teach them to observe the good in other people. So you must teach students this, or they will start to concentrate on being critical and looking at the bad things in people. They will start with you. But if you teach them to observe the goodness in other people, they will be the source of respect with other people. Discipline is vital to studying and to student behavior. Basic discipline includes: (1) Showing respect to the teacher and to others, (2) Cleanliness, (3) Punctuality, (4) Keep­ ing the five precepts (no killing, stealing, lying, sexual misconduct, or taking intoxicants), and (5) showing patience for meditation. The people who can model this behavior are, of in www.kalyanamitra.org

Suzanne Jeffrey illustration course, the teachers. This is the way to practice the Eightfold Noble Path, although most people don’t even know that it is the Eightfold Noble Path! If they practice ‘cleaning their minds’ in the first five minutes of class time, they will be beginning a lifelong habit of good meditation. But if we let it go, if we don’t teach them to meditate until they are older, then they will let it go, too. The first five minutes of class time is the best because they are just settling down, and they can ‘clean their minds’to get ready to listen to you. They will be more attentive, and be more tuned into listening to your lessons and your own inner wisdom. This is the perfect time to teach them, in your own way, about core values. The core concept is, of course, the Eightfold Noble Path that everyone can practice. The Dhamma can be taught to anyone as well, because the Buddha taught it for forty-five years to all kinds of people. The Dhamma is not just for smart people. The Buddha 112 www.kalyanamitra.org

Meehrts^s with 3 Dhamma Maaner systemized, or categorized, the Dhamma, and he was able to individualize the lessons so that the people He was talking to would have the ears to hear, and the wisdom to under­ stand what He was saying. Some people need more teaching than others. There are some people who heard the Buddha say one word and became an Arahant. But other people need more teachings in order to understand the Dhamma. So teachers have to have patience with their students when they teach them just as the Buddha had patience with the people that He taught. Q: Why should men ordain as monks? A: Ordaining allows the mind to expand and it is an opportunity to do good works. Monks will be able to create boon. When a man ordains, then his eyes can see the hori­ zon. But when he is married, he cannot see the horizon but only sees one face. His mind retracts and becomes smaller. A monk has the strength to carry an elephant, but when he is married everything shrinks and becomes smaller. Q: Is there any way to teach the teachings of the Buddha easily? A: You need to be calm and still and allow the students to be the same. This is why those five minutes of meditation in the beginning of class will allow your students to have a clearer mind to receive your teachings. The role of the teacher is not an easy one: That is, the patience and ability to develop morality in children. No matter how good a doctor is, they cannot resurrect a person with medicine. But the teacher can resurrect a student from death: The teacher can bring the student back to live in goodness again because the teacher can re-train students in good habits. Parents, of course, retain the first role as teachers to guide their children in right from wrong, good from bad. But the knowledge that is instilled in children from their teachers is used for the rest of their lives. Q: What is boon? A: Boon is pure energy. You cannot see it, but you know that it is there. Boon always gives good energy. You create boon, put the good energy into the universe, and then boon comes back to you. www.kalyanamitra.org 113

Suzanne Jeffrey Q: How is boon generated? A: Boon is created by doing good acts, keeping precepts, meditating, and listening to the Dhamma. You can feel the energy that is created by these four things. So if you do good acts with good intention, you stop doing bad things, and you purify your mind through meditation, you will be generating boon. Boon is boon and you don’t even have to think about it. So just go make boon and eradicate your defilement. Otherwise, you will be creating baap which is bad energy. Baap is generated by thinking bad thoughts through greed, anger, and jealousy. It is, in fact, dirty energy and undermines your feeling good about what you do, and the desire to do more good. Q: Could you talk more about the meaning of Dhamma? A: The first meaning of Dhamma is pure nature. Pure nature leads us to Nibbana. If we have pure nature, or pure mind, we will be filled with happiness. The second mean­ ing of Dhamma has to do with the teachings of the Lord Buddha: It is the summary of the 84,000 teachings and those teachings are about how to practice, and attain, the pure nature within. Unfortunately, there was no recorder during His time to record all of these teachings. But we can summarize all of the teachings as “noncarelessness”. The third meaning of Dhamma has to do with the good habits accorded those who follow the teachings. From beginning students to the more advanced students, it is the ethics, virtues, or morals that we practice and the habits that develop when we follow the teach­ ings. So the third meaning has to do with the behavior or good habits that we display. Q: Is offering money better than meditating? A: They are different so this is difficult to compare. But being generous is getting rid of stinginess and it develops a habit of compassion in the mind. And more, you have to understand that you reap what you sow. If you give knowledge easily, you will make a living easily. But we all need to meditate! Q: What is the result of meditation? A: The actual results of meditation are individual, but it does get rid of stinginess. If we keep the precepts, we can get rid of our anger by not allowing our mind to follow our anger. It also helps us to be more beautiful! [Everyone smiles at this because, after all, who doesn’t want to be more beautiful!] The results of following the precepts are to 114 www.kalyanamitra.org

have more money and to be more beautiful. Meditation clarifies our mind because we can see it the way it should be. So meditation makes us smart! Therefore, if we follow the precepts, we will be beautiful. If we are charitable and benevolent, we will be afflu­ ent. And, if we meditate, we will be smart! Q: Does the Wat (Temple) see this? A: There are three sources of the teachings: Parents, Teachers, and Monks. But all an­ swers begin with ourselves. Are we moral? If we cannot behave in a virtuous way, then we cannot criticize others. We must always start with ourselves and resolve any conflict we have within ourselves first. Change yourself to change the world. Q: Is it better to be born a Buddhist or to be born in another religion and convert to Buddhism? A: Heaven and Hell belong to all religions. Q: How can we resolve bad Kamma from the past? A: First, look at a glass of water. Let us suppose that the water represents the refined element of our mind. Defilement is like putting a cup of salt into the water. But when we pour that water into a bucket and add more water, or boon, we lessen the impact of the salt. Then we pour that water into a tank and add more water. Every time we add water, or boon, we lessen our bad kamma from the past. In order to change our kamma, we must do three things: (1) give up bad habits, (2) do good works, and (3) meditate. Q: What is the meaning of suffering? And impermanence? A: Impermanence is when things are changing all of the time, recreating the cells all of the time. Suffering is impermanence. We suffer because we cannot stay in the same form forever: No matter how old we are or how many wrinkles we have. We always try to prevent this from happening. But we cannot stop ageing. One day as the Buddha was teaching, a big wind came along and He said, “Monks... just dust in the universe...” Q: What if I just break one precept, or just two precepts? A: Everything has a cause and effect. We reap what we sow. 115 www.kalyanamitra.org

. Suzanne Jeffreij Q: Does Mara exist? What does Mara look like? A: Yes. Mara exists. Khun Yai used to say that Mara is Mara. Mara does not like good deeds and Mara always interferes. Mara cannot stop goodness being done, but it can put things in our way to interfere with us doing good deeds. For example, if we want to meditate, and our spouse starts to snore: This is just an interference to stop us from our meditation. Q: Is the mind spirit? A: You have to train yourself and see this for yourself. If you practice meditation, then you will be able to gain wisdom and answer these questions yourself. Q: Do I have to wear white, or light incense, or give flowers in order to attain good results in meditation? A: No. But these things only help you create an atmosphere that is pleasant for medita­ tion. You can use any or all of them if it helps you meditate more frequently. Luang Por gave us a blessing and said: “All people desire happiness. But here is what we all have in common: Birth, Old Age, Sickness and Death. Meditate and follow the Eightfold Noble Path, and you will find true happiness because you will end the cycle of re-birth: You will attain enlighten­ ment.” 116 www.kalyanamitra.org

M eeting with a Dhamma Master Meeting #15 9AM - 19 March 2010 Today, Luang Por is somber. His whole demeanor has changed from one of the joviality he displayed yesterday to one of crucial significance. I am not sure why, but I think that he sees the enormity of the task that lies ahead. These are the teachers of Thailand, and he considers them to be the future of Buddhism and Thailand: The education of Thailand falls on most of the people in this room. It is a serious task. He begins: “Yesterday, we had an overview of Buddhist teachings. From this knowing, we will come to understand the meaning of Dhamma. But any level of Dhamma must be seen from the inside of each individual. Goodness, righteousness, virtue: All of these things you must look and find inside of yourself. “As I said yesterday, there are three meanings or levels of Dhamma. The first is Pure Nature, or Nibbana. This exists within the human body, but it cannot be seen unless we meditate and eradicate our defilements. Then we can see Nibbana, or Dhamma. And in order to do this, we must practice the eightfold Noble Path. “The second concerns the teaching of the Lord Buddha which purifies the mind and in­ corporates the mind within the Dhamma. This enables us to reach our pure nature but it all depends on the effort that we put into it. Are we willing to put our own lives on the line for this? If we are not, we can at least help in the third meaning. “And that is, Dhamma means good habits that are accumulated through the practice of patience, right thinking, respect - and all of these habits are ethical. We need to keep the precepts in order to develop morality. “There are three questions that we must address: What are we teaching? Why are we teaching it? And how do we implement the teachings? The history of Thailand is an interesting one because it is the only country that has never gone to war. But if anything goes wrong, who do we blame? We always blame the politicians. If we put the blame on the government, then we are not looking in the right direction. WE are the ones who have to change. 117 www.kalyanamitra.org

Suzanne Jeffrey “The students you are teaching now will be the politicians when you retire. If you do not teach them properly, then who is to blame? We are!! We are to blame because we are probably not following the eightfold Noble Path. During the time of Prince Siddhartha, people thought he was crazy to practice the path, but He realized that there would be too many problems if they were not followed. “Throughout history, there are people in the world who always ask if there cannot be something or someone in the world to help with the problems of the world. We think: are we paranoid? Ignorant? And so people started to believe that something must exist. “We can call this anything that we want to: Nibbana, or God, or Truth, or the Unknown Factor, or Dhamma, or Supreme Knowledge. What we call it depends on where we are and the time we are alive. You have to remember that darkness is always balanced by the light. With right thinking, we can search for this dynamic force through the correct meditation. “There are all kinds of people in the world. People might think ‘let me stay here until someone else discovers whatever it is, and then I will take it for my own belief system.’ But there are others who believe it, and go in search for it. They search for the Unknown Factor until they discover it for themselves. “If the Unknown Factor is outside of the body, we think it can be attainable or unattain­ able by humans, by one’s self. Some people think that IT must be a special power given to us, because this would indicate that IT gave us the sun, the moon, and the stars. So we must pray to IT and ask IT for services or favors. This thinking was the origin of Deism. There are others who think they can obtain IT themselves, and meditate outside of the body, or search the world around for IT. This thinking is, then, for people who believe that the Unknown Factor exists outside of the body. “There are some exceptions to this: There are hermit yogis who look for the Unknown Factor inside of the body, but practice meditation outside of the body and can go search­ ing all around the world for the source. [Note: Remember that we must understand the sources o f religion so we can understand the way people think.] “There is another major group who think that the Unknown Factor is obtainable inside of 118 www.kalyanamitra.org

The Unknown Factor ft Must Exist Because of Balance: If There Is Suffering, Fear, . It Exists ▼ If Exists, It Would Havo And Ignorance, There Must Boon Discovered Already; It Doesn't Exist \"Doesn't Concern Mo\" Bo Something That Can Fix It 1 r Inside Body Outside Body Luxury ■ Self-Mortification Unobtainable By Obtainable B y Onus's Self One’s Self I 1| ▼ Only Superpower Indulgence 1^ In 1 Torture Others, Then Can Give; Sensual Pleasure When Cannot Find In Others, Must Have Favor IBody iMind I Torture Themselves With That Power Meditate With Mind 1 Search In Mountain Outside Of Body; i.e. Top, Cave, Beach, Candle, Fire, Water, The MaindddUle$sienWfgf*aMTy:hoeBrteMjftlwcinaedtetonnLuxury Sun, Moon, Space, etc. Valley, etc. illustration #10 the body, but they do not know where. They practice in two ways: One, through enjoy­ ment and physical pleasure, and Two, through self-mortification. Both, of course, are extreme. The Buddha had practiced both ways, but He was also the one who discovered that the Middle Path was the best way. Because he had meditated inside the body when He was seven years old, He knew that He could do this again. He, therefore, meditated and discovered the Middle Path. “All religions start from the ideas of suffering, fear and ignorance. And the common things that happen to all people are birth, ageing, sickness, and death. Something or someone must exist because there needs to be a Balance: If there is suffering, fear, and ignorance, there must be something or someone that can fix it! www.kalyanamitra.org 119

Suzanne J e ff ret) “Meditation and concentration help us to discover and understand all of this. One of our jobs, as you well know, is to train the future leaders so that they will understand this, too. We have the material to start the fire, but we need the people to ignite the mind: We know what is right, what is Dhamma, but we need those people who understand this to teach it! We, ourselves, must not be afraid to teach this. And hopefully, we are not too late! “So what motivates humans? Who teaches us right from wrong, or how do we gauge between right and wrong? In discussing this topic, we have to discuss kamma. Kamma, once again, is action with intention. It is, simply, cause and effect. If we do something good, then good will return to us. And, vice versa. When we talk about the retribution of Kamma, we talk about actions that happen because of the initial action that a person does. Retribution of Kamma can be in this life or future lives. Some actions have im­ mediate effects - like growing vegetables or fruit - and depending on the kind of fruit that we grow. Some vegetables are almost immediately available to us. Sometimes it takes many seasons. This is the same as kamma. Kamma can be good or bad. Some kamma bears fruit in this lifetime, and some in the future, although we should know the results of our actions. “Meditation also works in this way. If we meditate and continue to meditate we create boon which comes back to us. If we offer food to the monks, we see the results of this immediately as well. Baap, or bad kamma, works in the same way. Suffering will be the retribution of the corrupt or immoral act itself. So what are the acts that are consid­ ered unwholesome? We would have to break them down into three areas: (1) Body, (2) Speech, and (3) Thoughts. For the body, the three acts causing retribution are killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. For speech, the acts causing retribution are lying, using divisive speech, using harsh speech, and idle chatter, or speaking without any benefit. For thoughts, the acts are covetousness, having a vengeful mind, and having the wrong view - or having the wrong theory or philosophy of life. These are: thinking that there is no such thing as good or bad kamma, thinking that there is no reason to be bom, believ­ ing that there is no afterlife, believing that the mother is not worthy of respect, believing that the father is not worthy of respect, believing that spontaneous beings do not exist, believing that there is no Heaven or Hell, and believing that Arahants do not exist - or that a person cannot become self-enlightened. “Unwholesome acts, then, bear an unwholesome result. If we could go to the unwhole­ some realms, we would see that the retribution of doing unwholesome acts is to be bom 120 www.kalyanamitra.org

Mc'c :'ine5 wit h a D h a m m a M n s fc rr as animals, or bom into bad places. There are various levels of these: (1) bom as an ani­ mal (and that includes ANY animal), (2) bom as a Hungry Ghost, (3) bom as a monster, (4) Go to one of the various levels of Hell. Retribution is like throwing a stone in the air, you know that it will eventually, but always, come down. Or kicking a ball. It will move forward for awhile but then it will eventually stop. It could be rolling into the future, but it will eventually stop rolling. “Wholesome acts are, of course, just the opposite of the unwholesome ones. Anyone who has the Right View is like the first sunlight in the morning. And the person who has the ten wholesome actions going on in their lives has the Right View, the Right ‘theory’ or philosophy of life. And there are four Right Views: (1) Sharing. This is the way to live in the world together. All humans (and animals) need to share. Just as teachers share knowledge, we need to share our good fruit because we need to give something good in order to bring happiness. Sharing is really the basis of life and will deteriorate our impure elements. When we are trying to refuel our four elements, we realize that the resources are unequally distributed if we do not share. When we share, we have a liv­ able world. (2) Charity. In times of trouble, if the whole village has the problem, whose problem is it? The only caution would be that to offer assistance must be creative and truly helpful. (3) Encouragement and Respect. If we want good things to happen, then we have to do things. In order to create good vibes in the universe, we need to create boon. If you lose the feeling of doing good works, or your students lose the feeling that they are not being encouraged to do their best, then it is easier to wake the dead. So we must be encouraging to our students to do their homework, for example. (4) The result of a good and bad action exists. People must see this to believe it unfortunately, because they really don’t believe it. “There are reasons why we are living the way we are living in this world. If we are wealthy or poor, there are reasons for this. How we are today is an accumulation of what we were up until today. There is a reason for why we are here and what we will be do­ ing tomorrow. Although we cannot correct the past, we can certainly change the future - today and tomorrow. There is a reason for the next life, or the future in this life. This can be designed, depending on how we live the right view. We should not necessarily be caught in familiarity: Take, for example, the bee and the fly. The bee goes to the flower and the fly goes to garbage. Why? Because that is what they are used to doing! “Our mother is our first most significant figure because she is the first person to instill values. Without her wisdom, we may not be human unless our mother is human. She is 121 www.kalyanamitra.org

Suza nne Jeffrey the person who gives us the right view. If children are given the wrong view, then they will follow a path into Hell. Many teachers can teach their students, but they cannot teach their own children. The father, of course, is significant as well because he will in­ still values that are either harmful or noble. Additionally, teachers are significant to their students but this can be a double-edged sword because if you teach them bad habits then they will use that information in the wrong way. If we teach them good habits, of course, they will grow to be moral people. We must all understand this clearly. This is our re­ sponsibility and we cannot blame anyone else but ourselves if the future adults leading the country are selfish or self-serving. We must accept that responsibility as a teacher. “Spontaneous beings exist. It is necessary to talk about spontaneous being because it makes us think about the life cycle, birth and re-birth. Life after death exists, and the life we have in this world is short. But the life we have after death is so much longer; in fact, it could be for millions upon millions of years. Because life after death is long, if we make a mistake, our life could be extremely unhappy. And that is, unhappy beyond any explanation. We might suffer for many millions of years. One tiny finger movement which leads us to kill a mosquito leads to the death of a being which leads to a clouded mind which can lead us to Hell. This action affects everyone because everyone shares in our actions ... we affect each person in all of our six directions. We share in evilness just as we share in goodness. This acts like an insurance rate that increases over time un­ less we create boon to dispel the baap that is created by ourselves and others. If we give just one spoonful of rice to a monk, that monk will be able to spread more Dhamma, and that will last for many lifetimes. No matter how small our gift of goodness is, that act of sharing has significant consequences. We simply do what we can. “The Buddha trained Himself, received the knowledge, and then shared the knowledge He obtained. He taught everyone, it did not matter to whom it was taught - rich or poor - and the depth of His teaching depended on the individual to whom He was teaching. He could see what the individual needed to understand at the time He was teaching him or her, and that made Him the consummate teacher. Not only that, but the Buddha had a great curriculum - and we all just have to follow it. He can guarantee the teaching. That applies to anyone who has the Right View: If we follow the teaching, it will be like a shining light of the sun rising in the mind. “The standard of good and bad is right here for us to understand. Wholesome or un­ wholesome, coarse or refined. Charity, compassion, virtue - use the Dhamma to decide what is good and bad teaching. But use the precepts as well. If we use custom, which 122 www.kalyanamitra.org

Meenns^s with a Dhamma M aster is a more coarse way to judge good and/or bad, we might not have the best way but at least people can live with one another. In addition to custom or tradition, we can also use the law where there is evidence and/or a witness. But law can have a true and a false interpretation: Or, the law can be good or bad depending on the interpretation because if we are judging by custom, then it will be coarse. It depends on each situation and the people, and that is why the Buddha taught to all the people, not just to specific people. Not just an overview, but everything - all 84,000 teachings. And that was just the begin­ ning.” 2PM “How do we judge good and bad actions according to the Buddhist way? There are stan­ dards, but it is difficult to find an equal to this because in other religions we cannot see our own mind and the defilements in our mind. So in order to actually figure out Kamma and the source of Kamma it is difficult because there is no clear measure of good and bad. It depends a great deal on intention. “If we do not preserve the land, then the mind of the people will not be able to see the good and bad and then the people will be in conflict. Just as it has been throughout his­ tory, the country and the people will be separated. This is what happened recently in 1989 with the USSR. The country split into many countries because they did not know what was good and what was bad throughout their history. “The way to keep Thailand intact is to keep Buddhism because if we cannot keep it, then we will lose the line between good and bad. Until 1973, we had a teaching curriculum that was based on Buddhist principles and practices. But it changed during that year be­ cause the Minister of Education was not a Buddhist. A country has to have the ten right views as a basis for correct teaching because it gives a clear line or delineation of what is good and what is bad. “Because we define kamma as action with intention, everything we do has kammic con­ sequences but it also depends on whether or not we are people who have significant defilements. If our mind is pure, our action does not result in kammic action. But we need to be very careful because even though we may have good wishes, deep down in­ side, we have defilement, and our sincerity is not there. Therefore, the Buddha could do things and not reap kammic consequences because He had no defilement. This applies to Arahants as well. www.kalyanamitra.org 123

Suzanne Jeffreij “Kamma, then, applies to body, speech, and thought: action with intention. And the actions that we perform throughout our lifetimes reflect negatively or positively on the people around us. These people are: our Mother/Father, our teachers throughout our lifetime, our own family when we are older, friends, our colleagues, and our spiritual leaders and/or mentors. We call these the six directions. In the front are the people who care for us as we are growing, to the right side are the people who are our teachers, and to the top are the spiritual guides we have throughout our lives. These three directions are the most vital at birth. “Teachers, then, are one of the most important sources of value training. If we look at our own actions, we must decide for ourselves if our actions are healthy and moral. Or, do we commit deeds when we are angry, greedy, or deluded. The people committing the deed must always think of the consequences because if they do not, and commit a wrong deed, they will regret it later on. We must always look at the result of our actions. If we do something out of bias or prejudice, then the consequences will be significant. So look at the cause of the action and the result of the action in order to understand the cor­ rect definition of cause and effect. If the Dhamma is not clearly understood it will cause many problems within the community. If it is, then there will be no problems. “Next, let us look at the words ‘should’ and ‘should not’. ‘Should?’ or ‘should not?’ are not easy questions, nor do they have easy answers. With anything we do, if we do any­ thing, there is a tendency to ask the question: ‘Should I do this?’ “Should I not do this?’ Any time we cause an unwholesome act to happen, that is a ‘should not’: If we are think­ ing of doing some action and it will cause something unwholesome to happen, then we ‘should not’ do that action. At the time we ask the question, however, it is neither right nor wrong, good nor bad. If, however, a wholesome act might occur, then it is ‘should’. Anything that we do that might result in an unwholesome action occurring, then that is a ‘should not’. And, vice versa, anytime a wholesome action might occur, that is a ‘should’. This is the standard for any leader and it is the Dhamma left by the Buddha. This should also be used for our laws because our leaders have to look to the future.” Luang Por then discusses the Eightfold Noble Path and how “Should” and “Should Not” reflects on the teachings of the eightfold path. Because these are teachers that he is speaking with, he wants them to understand that there are two levels of knowledge. “There are two levels of understanding: Common understanding, or general understand­ ing, and Profound understanding. The first has a minimal effect to the mind, but the 124 www.kalyanamitra.org

second significantly affects the mind. You can take any subject that you teach, whether it is math, or geography, or biology, if a student has wrong understanding, it does not cause that student (or you) to go to Hell. But right understanding is always better! In profound understanding, however, it affects our afterlife. If we don’t think there is an afterlife, for example, then it significantly affects the mind and whether or not you go to Heaven or Hell. This, in itself, has significance and can or cannot affect the mind. “This is called having the Right View because profound understanding is the Right View. If we can instill the right view into the student’s mind, then we will be able to change people for the better. The right thought also has common and profound meaning and so on, around the wheel, but we always need to think in terms of the ten right views. Teach­ ers need to use the eightfold path to profoundly affect their students in the right way, but not to create thoughts that might direct them to use the wrong view. For example, in teaching chemistry, we do not want students to come away thinking it is moral to make a bomb, a gun, or to have an abortion. We can do this because we are basing everything on the right view. “Right motivation has everything to do with good deeds, just as right understanding has to do with views of life after death. If we do this, teach this, then people will be reluctant to behave badly. Societies fall apart because they have not been educated in the eightfold path. If you teach the students the Dhamma, you will have given them the safety net for their lives. Because they have the right view, they will have the right thought, and so on around the wheel. “Every time we lie, we deceive ourselves and we lose confidence in ourselves. We reap what we sow. Our speech should always be within the context of what is in the Dhamma. And, because the mind is clear, it is easy to be successful. Buddhists would not go into the wrong livelihood if they were taught the eightfold path as a child. They would sim­ ply not give people drugs, so they would not be available. And so, as teachers, we need to practice the eightfold path for ourselves. If people don’t tell you, you don’t know how to fix your habits. You must always think of your responsibility you have and the good that you do. “The tradition in Thailand, when the children were growing up, was to gather around the grandparents in the evening and the children would tell the grandparents what good actions they had performed that day. This created good energy in the family and for the individual members of the family. During the rainy season (June through October) the 125 www.kalyanamitra.org

Suzanne Jeffrey fish would come to the road and Luang Pu would feed the fish and give them a bless­ ing. That created good boon for the fish, the family, and Luang Por. When he grew up, then, the Dhamma had already been taught to him indirectly. The grandparents and the parents would apologize for incorrect thinking. But these days, the blessings are not the same. There is just TV, not Dhamma. But we have to take the responsibility for that. We support children wearing make-up, for example, or we support them going into the army. This is the wrong way to support them. Children grow up too fast, too soon. They go out just for the sake of entertainment, and from doing this, they have a wandering mind. They lose their good judgment when they follow the celebrities. They must learn to keep their mindfulness. The Eightfold Noble Path can be taught in Kindergarten. We can teach them etiquette, manners, and effort until mindfulness is achieved for them on that level. “A good person, then, practices the Eightfold path, and reaches out and around to every­ one. The person becomes this way, because you (the teachers) teach them responsibility without prejudice or bias. And this is the only way to change society: Change yourself. You are responsible for your own actions. And you, as teachers, are given responsibility for your students. This is the job you take on as a teacher. We can only change society if illustration #11 www.kalyanamitra.org 126

Mee tings with n Dhnmma Master we first start with our own individual self and then work outward in all directions. “The six directions start with the smallest unit, ourselves. We are in the center of the sphere of the six directions that influence us, and the people we influence in return as we grow. There is a direct ‘input’ when we are bom, but as we grow and mature, the interaction becomes a dynamic, fluid one. Depending on the virtues of those around us, we grow and develop. This is why it is vital that parents have good ethics. If they do not, then people become unethical: The same with the teachers. If the teachers are not ethical, what chance do the children have? But, of course, it is not as simple as this. Each person has some good habits, and some bad habits. In all situations, there are people within our six directions who are true, and some are false. And they may change quickly within our lifetime. We move, or we change schools. We are always forming new relationships and therefore the dynamics within our sphere changes. We think, of course, that we are our own refuge, which, of course, can be true on some levels. But if we are to live together, we have to have certain duties that are the duties of any citizens within the society. “Because we are imperfect, we share and interact imperfectly. The only way to change this imperfect ‘sphere’ of dynamic relationships that we have is to meditate and change ourselves in order to leam to be more perfect so that our interactions with others will be more perfect. And that is how we change our society. We start with ourselves and we leam compassion and equanimity for others. If you say it is not your duty, then whose is it? Any country that has unrest, at the grass roots, or at any level, that is a problem within society. And we must solve our problems together. “If we have these teachings, and we hear them but don’t even practice them, then what good is it? We need to practice them until they become good habits. The Buddha said that one day people will become lazy and not practice the teachings. Therefore, it cre­ ates the necessity to have a future Buddha. History, then, is cyclical. But we must take this information and train ourselves. The most difficult part is using it to develop good habits. How strict are we about developing ourselves within the cycle? “Education is all about developing good habits. But different habits lead to different lives. If we seek knowledge and virtue, these are good habits. In thinking, speaking and acting positively and admirably we will receive excellent results. We will have great friends, our future will be bright, and we will be successful because we have trained ourselves with morality. Likewise, bad habits will lead to thinking, speaking, and acting poorly www.kalyanamitra.org 127

which will lead to destructive thoughts and eventually into darkness. So, as we can see, different habits lead to different lives. All of our habits come from our early training. “How do we define habits and how are they formed? When we hear, see, taste, feel, and touch something repeatedly, and we think, act and speak repeatedly: If we are encour­ aged to do it and repeat it, then it becomes a habit. A habit is formed if, when we don’t do something, we miss it. If, in fact, we don’t do something and become frustrated because we are not doing it, then it is a habit. Habits, of course, can be good or bad. So repetitive actions that we do = Habits. Students develop habits from home. But before we try to correct our student’s habits, we need to correct our own. And, in correcting our own habits, we should use the Eightfold Noble Path to do it. The encouragement to do this comes internally, through meditation (both our own, and through a short meditation before class) and externally, from other people. “Meditation teaches us and our students to find internal support. Anyone who practices meditation finds it easier to see the problems and issues that they need to address. Medi­ tation is ultimately a ‘re-charge’ and finally becomes a good habit. “Teaching morality is usually not successful. You cannot teach with just words because they do not work. Generosity, charity, and compassion need to be taught through words in conjunction with activities. Your students must clearly understand that there is a con­ nection between good and bad actions. And that connection is what kamma is: Action with intention. “In the past, mothers used to take their children to offer food to the monks. Now, that culture is lost. If the culture is lost, how do we teach it? At home, the duty of the chil­ dren included supporting the parents through sickness, illness, and old age. And that was not just duty, but charity and compassion with love. “Teaching these values through activities, as well as learning the eightfold noble path, is the way to help the students develop morality throughout their lives. But teachers have to practice these as well. The teachers have to get along collegially and encourage each other. Doing this is a habit. Academic education is also built on habit as well as supporting one another in this endeavor. Good deeds receive good results. And how do we organize activities that will encourage the right view? We make those activities: Stu­ dents may think negatively if we don’t encourage them to think positively. If WE don’t do it, then everything that we have learned yesterday and today would be like throwing 128 www.kalyanamitra.org

everything into the garbage. It we do it, that will start the wheel of goodness - otherwise it will not spin, but we can still make it in time. “Education should be used to develop good habits, and to systematically get rid of bad habits. The duty of the teachers is to develop respect, discipline, and patience. How do we develop respect? We teach the students to accept the virtues that already exist in the person or the object. Respect means that we accept or recognize the goodness that exists. And how do we show respect? We need to speak about it, recognize it, see it, and talk about it. Teachers need to teach this. “The statue of the Lord Buddha is respected because it represents the virtues of the Lord Buddha. We practice Buddhism with respect. And we study the Dhamma teachings in order to show respect. In education, respect is shown (for example) by people sitting quietly in your office. We learn to show respect in circumstances with people because we never know when we will meet them again. We will earn a good reputation if we show respect with hospitality. So we must train students in hospitality as well. Stand­ ing up when someone enters the room, being quiet, and so on and on, shows people that they are respected. And it is the duty of the teacher to find activities to teach those good habits. “And what is discipline? Discipline is the willingness to follow the rules of the com­ munity that look after the community itself and the members within it. A person who has discipline is one who is willing to follow the rules. Students must know how to be disciplined and make it a good habit. The first discipline is to show respect. This is the beginning of living together peacefully. “And, finally, what is patience? Patience is when your mind is in neutral. We are con­ centrated on the goal. Unfortunately, there are many obstacles. Colleagues can be ob­ stacles as well as some of our friends. “So, therefore, we need respect... discipline... patience. We should practice meditation for patience. And then help train one another. “Tomorrow we will talk more about the Six Directions.” www.kalyanamitra.org 129

Mc\\ ■ 11X5VvH.h ,1 Dhamina M aster M eeting#^ 9A M - 2 0 March 2010 “Yesterday, I said to you that we would talk about the six directions. These, we cannot separate. They are, in fact, the same thing, only each direction has a different issue - but we cannot separate the entirety. Just like lighting a candle, we have the candle, the match, the act of lighting, the heat, the combustion, and the light. Separate things, but integrated into one unit and the acts of one affect the acts of the other, and the outcome. “Education is the same. Although the person is at the center, the six directions show us the smallest and most complete social unit. This is the network for the individual’s moral development. If we manage to have people in each direction working harmoniously, it will be beneficial to the self, as well as the entire nation. Buddha taught us these sixteen years after his enlightenment. If everyone works in harmony, then it is beneficial. If they do not, then it is not beneficial. “When we add in everyone else’s six directions, and extend the six directions out, we can see that the six directions incorporate everyone in the world. But let us now look at how we can see this dynamic: (1) Parents - we connect to our parent’s six directions to become acquainted with those people in each of their six directions, (2) Teachers - how many teachers do we have in our lives? Many. And sometimes we even connect to teachers in their six directions. (3) Friends and Colleagues- we have friends from every walk of our life, from school and the neighborhood, from social networking (just look at the friends we have on Facebook or MySpace!), to friends of friends of friends. (4) Our own spouse or partner—and we then connect to those people who are connected to them. (5) Employees - these connections can be huge! Look at how we interact at our job and the people we meet through our connections to our work! (6) Religious leaders/Monks/ Priests/Mentors - these are the people whom we respect and confide in. These are the people to whom we go to for advice. Perhaps these are the people who lead us in our moral development when we are older and can speak for ourselves. “Each of the people in our six directions should behave correctly - have high moral standards. Any society can develop morally if the duties of each person are performed properly. That is, of course, if each of us knows our duty and performs it properly. “If we allow ourselves to live solely within the external world, we will develop bad hab­ its. We can see the pattern of behavior that is created if we do not stop, and see ourselves www.kalyanamitra.org 131

Suza nne Jeff retj f --------------- ;----------- \\ f -------- ^------------------ \\ — T1-h-e--R--e-a-l------- \\ The Reality of Struggle for Life: We get Problems: These this picture from Survival: Because come from the our parents. Our of the four coarse defilements that birth is the most elements that we critical time, we all have within and the weakest have to refuel us. Governments time, of our life. constantly, we are Because the four and politicians elements are always looking tend to try to externally. We solve problems impure, we realize on the surface but that we have have to seek the real problem shelter, feed is what happens many defilements ourselves, take within each person: that cause us to care of our health, anger, greed, and be ignorant and and find clothing. ignorance. The possess the wrong If we are not problem is that we knowledge. We are taught properly to are not enlightened, thinking, speaking, have high moral nor do we see any acting, behaving | standards, we value in becoming incorrectly unless Pr are likely to get enlightened. We we have parents into the wrong are only looking or guardians who livelihood, or for external teach us moral the wrong way satisfaction. But behavior. If we are of living. This we will never taught properly, is the problem find it unless we then we will be of survival. Our Meditate and able to possess the own bad behavior creates enemies v_______change ourselves. Right View. which, in turn, J creates our problem JV _______________ of living together. We cannot hope to illustration #12 find peace within our society if we are always looking externally. _______ j 132 www.kalyanamitra.org

hn^; s\\v:rh pK-rmrrK-i M/isfer for who we are: Not in the mirror, but inside of our mind. If we focus on the external, then defilements cloud our mind. We will develop false friendships and these are people around you who have not been trained to live their lives morally: these people become false friends. There are four groups of them: (1) Selfish or greedy people, who want us to behave in a way to benefit them, (2) Smooth talkers, who are insincere and want us to do things that are on their agenda, (3) Flatterers, or people with no principles. These people enjoy good and bad things, but essentially are self-promoters and back-biters. (4) People who lead us down the path to destruction in our own lives. These people like to invite us to do the immoral things in life because they possess no wisdom. They cause society to decay, which will eventually cause the country to collapse. If all of the trends continue, they will continue to flourish. But we cannot just reflect about them from the outside, we must think of ourselves and work on our own development. “We need true friends. These are people who are (1) Loving: When you are happy, they are happy. They are supportive and encouraging and kind. (2) Good counselors: They encourage you, teach you, and guide you along your path. (3) Sincere: Through thick and thin, these people stick by you when times are tough. They accept you as you are and would put their lives on the line for you. We need people who will come and protect our things when we are gone, who are dependable in times of need, and who give more than what is asked. “Any society full of false friends will collapse sooner or later. However, if true friends are widespread, then the society will be efficient, powerful, harmonious, and honest. The Buddha saw this through the six directions in the mind, and grouped them as true and false friends. But we must also have these same behaviors that we look for in our true friends. And in order to get these characteristics, we have to meditate. In a sense, meditation is closing down our bank and checking our balance sheet. Everyone who does accounting has to do this because the bank has to check its balance every day. So we have to check our Boon Bank every day! And we do this through our own medita­ tion. If we can do this, we will be developing ourselves for each person to observe this for themselves. Meditation is an activity in which we observe ourselves. And it is a duty for each of the six directions. “Each direction has its own duty. For the parents, it involves training children to be moral adults, preventing them from doing immoral acts, not giving them any debt to repay, and so on. But how can parents teach their children if they don’t know what is good or bad? 133 . www.kalyanamitra.org

Suzanne J e ffret) “The teachers have a double duty, one of moral training and the other of academic train­ ing. So how do we solve this problem of teaching children what is good and bad? We train the parents, too! We need to have the parents, the teachers, and the temple (moral leaders or religious leaders) all working together. If the father ordains, for example, he understands what moral behavior really is. If the mother does Upasika training, then she understands as well. Then both parents understand moral behavior and can teach it to their children. Parents need to find the Dhamma and train together. This solution takes a great deal of effort, but it must be done together. We definitely have to do something because we cannot simply sit around as we watch our society deteriorate. “And, so, we help children develop good habits when they are young. It is repetitive action that is developed from seeking the four elements. And we can use the model of the five rooms in which to teach them: good character developed from the (1) bedroom, (2) bathroom, (3) dressing room, (4) kitchen/dining room/living room/computer room, and (5) school or workplace. These five areas are the training ground for good moral development. If we follow this into the six directions, we will see that our true friends have the same model, and that this model is the road map to success. “But, first, when you want to affect the development of good habits in your students, you must look at yourself. If you have good habits, then your students will develop good habits as well. But if you do not, then you must first correct yourself, and then correct your students!” 1PM “We have been learning about the six directions in its smallest unit and how it applies to society. The Buddha set this up for us in order to solve the problems of human behavior and because we were bom in ignorance. Ignorance is why we experiment. We try, but then we make mistakes. If we have no one around us to help us leam good habits, these mistakes will lead us to bad habits. We think, of course, that if we destroy things, we can rebuild them. But if we develop bad habits, we will be generating baap, and it will take us a long time to recognize what we have done and to correct those bad habits. We are usually proud of our good habits and we certainly do not like to recognize our bad ones. It takes a great deal of mental and physical strength to change our bad habits. And we can change them only if we recognize that we have them, and then have the willpower and courage and opportunity in which to change them. 134 www.kalyanamitra.org

“There is a total interconnectedness of everyone in the six directions. Now, if we all refrain from bad habits and keep the first four precepts devotedly, as well as to avoid any biases caused by love, hate, fear and ignorance, we would be a pretty amazing society. We should all be avoiding what are called the roads to ruin as well: drinking, lustfulness, gambling, associating with corrupt people and anyone who thinks that money is GOD. According to the six directions, educational administrators must not only be the center of their own six directions, but also part of the student’s six directions. We have a duty, as parents and as teachers to one another, and to the children. So we see, in the upbring­ ing of our children, there is a total interconnectedness of everyone in all directions. We must, of course, be centered in our own six directions as well as be a part of everyone else’s with whom we come in contact. “Learning comes from everywhere in the universe. It can take place inside and outside of the school. It can take place in the middle of the forest, but if it does, what are the tools? The teacher-student exchange. Learning happens automatically from the six di­ rections. But we need to learn certain information because we are bom into ignorance and with defilements. Because the problem of living together is caused by defilements, which of course is the power that they have, we must solve the problems of living to­ gether by learning - through education. “Through the meaning of education, we come to understand that we have to pay attention to the learning process of another while we ourselves strive to leam. We need to be a part of their six directions. We, as teachers, must develop our students in a way that they will persevere to do goodness. Not just to know, but to use the information they leam to do good deeds. And they need to use the power of the teachers to do this. We need to develop in students the discipline to take care of themselves - their mental and emotional health, and their physical health. And with this, the whole picture of education should be clear. We are all worthy of being human. “The object of education and educational administration or management is to develop good habits in our students. Of course, they strive to obtain knowledge. We have to help them understand the knowledge they possess and the knowledge they acquire and then give them the skills and expertise to use the things that they leam. Included in this is the educational management aspect, in which they leam to be responsible for the classroom, the desks, the chairs, the floors, and bathrooms and so on and on. This habit carries over to being responsible for themselves and their own cleanliness. They must leam to take care of their physical and mental health as well, by eating the proper foods in the proper www.kalyanamitra.org 135

Suza nne Jeffrey proportion, and in getting the proper amount of exercise. “In the educational environment, we all have to practice a code of conduct. This is why respect is the vital part of the six directions and why we have to have respect, discipline and patience as the three basic core values of any school. We must help students learn to make the correct decisions, and we must be clear about it. We must have a clear delinea­ tion between good and bad. And so, as with any decision, we need to look at intention and we need to look at the end result. What result will that action bring? If the outcome is good, then the action will be good. If the parents do not train the child, or train him or her poorly, then it is not the fault of the teacher. But bad habits can be corrected if we (as teachers) take our job seriously. Simply use the eightfold noble path in which to train the students. Each student may start at a different stage, but you still must try. “Once again, habits come from the home environment initially. There are the five ‘spac­ es’ or ‘rooms’ or ‘areas’ in which we are all trained. And it is the training that matters. Habits are the repetitive actions that we do every day, just like making the bed. And, initially, it is the responsibility of the primary caregiver to train the children: In the bed­ room, or in the sleeping area, we are concerned with right view and right concentration. We can meditate in this space and we take responsibility for the cleanliness of our area. (Monks are taught all of their rules of behavior by the monastic rules.) The sleeping area is one in which the child will learn about morality. In the bathroom, we learn about contemplation and right thought. Here, we look after our health because our body is really a nest for disease. Our bodies are simply our bodies and they will deteriorate over time. There is not really much good in it, except that it houses our mind. It is, in fact, a walking graveyard. And thinking in this way reduces our ego. In the dining room, which includes all living spaces like the living room, the computer room, and the kitchen, we learn about right speech and right action. Here we learn good manners because we are eating together. We learn how to handle complaints and criticism. If the dishes are left undone, then ants will collect which results in the possibility of killing the ants. (Which, of course, denotes that there is the possibility of killing living things.) Then the lesson we learn is that we cannot blame others for our own actions. We also learn about the economy in this room because we have to budget for food, and figure out portion control. Additionally, if we are involved with social networking, we learn many of our communication skills, albeit in an impersonal way - also having to do with man­ ners and proper rules of conduct. In the dressing area, we learn about mindfulness. In this room we tend to lie to ourselves about our own importance and outward appearance. This is really the room in which we need to learn to be humble, discreet, and patient with 136 www.kalyanamitra.org

ourselves. This is also an important room for economy, as well, because we have to learn to cut back on our spending for clothing and accessories. The last room is the school or workplace. This is when our total accumulation of habits comes into play. And here is the source of success in our lives. “At home we need a teacher, too, and our parents or guardians are our first teachers. But if children are neglected and the parents don’t teach them, they will be like monkeys, and the teachers will need to show great patience and tolerance for these young people. In order to help them, we need to create the five rooms at school. Simply re-create the atmosphere and the physical space so that we can give them the teachings they need. There are many, many activities that we can use to teach students about the Eightfold Noble Path without calling it that. Just the use of the bathroom at school can utilize im­ portant lessons for the students. Rotate the duties and teach them how to monitor their own health. We can monitor their manners, how they dress, how they interact with one another, and then compliment them and make suggestions as to the appropriate behav­ ior. “However, we must remember that in developing habits and correcting our student’s behavior, we have to know ourselves and look at our own behavior. The teacher is the model in each of the rooms. Teachers have to strive to have morals and knowledge. And they have to strive to meditate each and every day so that they can teach their students. Remember that teachers have to follow the precepts if we are asking students to follow them. So in Buddhism, we look at ourselves, and we look at our own six directions. We look at how we were trained, by our parents, our own teachers, and the temple that we at­ tend. We always look at our own directions first, and we look at how and where our own six directions received their teachings. So you will see that it is all a chain reaction. “If the students can keep the precepts, then they can be responsible for their own moral­ ity. If they can abstain from having prejudices and biases, then they can be responsible for the morality of the society. If they can abstain from all of the ten ‘roads to ruin’, then they can be responsible for the economy. This could be the evaluation standard. “It is our duty to help the parents teach their children ethical behavior. The story is told about four different people planting trees. The child says: Grow fast so that I can work under your shade. The younger adult says: Grow fast so I don’t have to work hard and the birds can use your shelter. The older person says: Grow fast so that I sit in your shade, meditate under your branches and listen to the Dhamma. The Wise person says: Grow www.kalyanamitra.org 137

5 uzanne J e ffreij fast. And may everyone who sits in your shade attain enlightenment. “We should always think about the last person’s world. All of these people were plant­ ing trees at the same time: They were all doing the same actions, but they all wanted something different and achieved different boon because of their wishes. For teachers, the effort to teach is the boon. The teachers are the Arahants of the house.” Luang Por ends the conference with this thought: “Ask yourself this question: How many of your own teachers from years past do you now hold in your heart? What made them a great teacher for you? Think about those qualities and try to emulate them in your own teaching. “And ask this: In twenty years, would you be willing to bow down to the very people you are teaching right now? How will you prepare your students for their leadership roles in the future? “The real learning in education comes from a reflection of the self. If you love yourself, you will send that out into the six directions. Ultimately, you must remember Atta hi attano natho atta hi attano gati: You are your own refuge, you make your own future. You must help your students understand their future.” 138 www.kalyanamitra.org

Meeting #20 25 March 2010 - about 9:00 PM There are four of us here today to talk about the V-Star Project because one of the people (Don) wants to institute a similar program into the Lab School at the University of Ha­ waii. So Don is here, with LP Pasura who will act as our translator, a woman named Ping Ping and me. I have been asked to come along because this all has to do with education, and, as you know, I am all about education. Luang Por walks in, and looks pretty darned serious. I’m not sure I want to be here when he is looking like this. After explaining what the meeting is all about, LP Pasura sits down - well, we all sit down - and wait. He looks more serious than I have ever seen him look except for that look he gave one of the monks when he was meditatively reprimanding him. “The problem of education is historical. We do not, as in the days of JFK, ask what we can do for our country, but we take, take, take what we can get without acting responsi­ bly. Look, for example, at the fall of the Thai government in Ayutthaya. “Ayutthaya was the Golden Capital of Siam. But because there were so many indepen­ dent provinces making up the capital, the Burmese invaded and conquered the city in 1767. The entire Siamese army fled to the south. Eventually, a great hero, King Taaksin, unified the Siamese and in 1775 overthrew the Burmese. But Taaksin did more than that: He really unified the nation, not just for Siam, but also for Cambodia and Laos. He also improved the governments, and rebuilt the physical infrastructure in addition to improv­ ing education and art and, in particular, Buddhism. “We need, of course, to put moral education into our curriculum and that is what the V-Star project hopes to do. But in order to really understand the history of education throughout the world, we need to understand what the problem is. The conflict through­ out the world that we have is simply that we need to look deeply within for the solution to the problem, and looking deeply within will cause many other problems within ourselves because that is where we have to look: within ourselves. And no one wants to look deeply within themselves to solve problems. We want the problems solved for us ... we certainly don’t want to work for solutions. www.kalyanamitra.org 139

Suzanne Jeffrey “Look at the difficulties within animals. You need to meditate to find out, to truly under­ stand, that animals are humans who are trying to break free. In order to do this, you need to follow at least the first four precepts. Otherwise we will be self-destructing! We need to change ourselves not the world. To put it another way, in order to change the world, we need to change ourselves. “Of course, the problem of education is not just an American problem; it is a problem in all educational systems. All you need to do is look at the history of each country in order to understand what has happened to the moral behavior of the people within that country. And education is the primary source for the development of the people. The play of power and economy are also active in education, too. But in order to better each educa­ tional system, we must not have bias or prejudice. If so, then trust is lost. All bias and prejudice are based on four factors: (1) love, (2) hate, (3) fear, and (4) ignorance. If we have any of these four factors functioning in our education, we become biased, and the people become biased within the system. And so, it carries forward and we ultimately corrode the very system in which we are functioning. “When we think about education, we all seem to believe in the equality of opportunity - that is, that all people deserve to be educated equality - but when we apply bias or prejudice, we do not have equality of results. Perhaps we don’t really believe in equal­ ity of results! And greed, of course, plays its role in this. Greed is definitely a standard within the system. “People still do not understand that we reap what we sow. They don’t understand it, of course, because they do not see it in their lives, just as they don’t understand that their economic crisis is because they overspend. We have been taught that credit is easy, and that somehow we will not have to pay. We always have to pay. That is the Law of Kamma. The Buddha did not make up the Law of Kamma, He simply re-discovered it ... or, perhaps it is better to say, that He saw the Law of Kamma in action when He be­ came enlightened, and then was able to teach it. If people meditated, they would see it for themselves and understand that we really do reap what we sow. But the children of today give us hope for the future. Of course, they have to sit down to meditate in order to understand it. “Poor economic investments lead everyone along the road to ruins. We use intoxicants, we enjoy going out in the evening, we go off to the latest entertainment, and we gamble. Those are all economic problems that distract us from finding out more about ourselves. 140 www.kalyanamitra.org

M e-Th^s with a Dhamma M aster We worship money as God and morality is lost. When we do this, we begin to associate with ‘bad’ people, or people who lead us away from the very thing that would help us! And then that leads us to laziness in working and we become parasites on society. This is the common problem of all empires that have been lost: Worshipping money leads to greed which leads to the disintegration of society. “Ever since I was in high school, I was interested in the downfall of empires and I wanted to understand why they could not unite. But, very simply, the military approach begins with the understanding that we have to kill - and that leads us to become the blight of society. Understanding the Right View, having Right Thought, or Right Philosophy, is the only way to start to change this. “There are three ‘standards’ that need to be developed: (1) within humanity itself, (2) within the morality of society, and (3) within the economy. How do you develop these so that the population is made up of all moral people, universally, so that we have habitual morals, not just ones that we use on occasion to display our decency when we think it will serve us best? We do this by teaching people about the affect each person has on the six directions: leaders, parents, teachers, family, friends, and colleagues or employees. We need to help humanity develop good habits and use them to influence each of their own six directions! “Wat Phra Dhammakaya is, in essence, a moral Hollywood, trying to get people to wake up and pay attention to the consequences of their actions. Their actions are difficult to change once their habits have been formed. These early habits are formed mainly through three sources - and in this order: the parents, guardians, or caregivers; the teach­ ers; and the early spiritual leader. Each person has to have clear guidelines and roles that are initially given by the people in these ‘directions’and it is the interaction of these three sources with us that sets our early habits. “Added to this, of course, are the historical factors that dictate what is happening around us, whether or not we live in the right time or the right circumstance, and our own kam- ma. Each of these directions (or the people within these directions) has a role to play in the development of the re-education of the world. The true benefit of this is the develop­ ment of the se lf- even though, of course, it may consequently benefit the world. We are attracted together - we actually come together - because of this ‘main product’. But in reality, every person benefits from everyone else even though we should be dictated by ‘I do it for myself9because in the end run, we have to be responsible for our own actions. www.kalyanamitra.org 141

Suzanne Jeffrey And that’s where we close the circle. We do it for ourselves because we have to develop ourselves before we can develop anything else ... but everything about us affects all of the people in our own six directions, who, in turn, affect everyone around them. “In Western culture, you learn to think of others before you think of yourself. But that is where you lose the sense of self-responsibility. When we are bom, when our umbilical cord is cut, we have to think of ourselves - and that is the crisis of our lives. At that very moment, we become independent, so we must learn how to take the responsibility of our own actions. We need to be self-correcting, and self-dependent. And we need to do this step-by-step, one person at a time. We need to help people see the development and progress that have been made with Buddhism and the practice of Buddhism! “Khun Yai used to say, ‘I never worry because my boon will take care of me,’ and we need to help people understand this idea of boon, or pure energy, that they can obtain through doing three things: (1) doing good deeds, (2) giving up unwholesome practices, and (3) meditating. At the end of the day, it is all about developing our own mind be­ cause we are the center of our own six directions. And whatever we do, we should lay down our life for this goal. “Our responsibility is to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. This prin­ ciple is from the Buddha’s teachings. And this really is all about social responsibility. But the problem here is the greed that we get when we go out into the world; it is our defilement. In order for us to survive, we have to re-fuel, so to speak. Our defilements force us to use harsh speech, so we tend to say, and then to do, the wrong things. We also have defilements simply because we have to live in a society, and the more we live in society, the more our defilements grow. Defilements are really the same thing as [in Christianity] Satan. If people could only understand that they are the same, perhaps they would actually change. But the only way to change it is to see it, and that means that people have to meditate. “Moral standards are the boundaries that keep us, and our society, in check; holding it all together, so to speak. If we lose our moral standards, then we lose our battle with defilements, with Satan. Buddha wanted us to see the defilements of the mind in order to help us suppress them. But to see them, we must meditate: To see them means that we have to recognize that we need to change and that is not an easy thing to convince people to do. 142 www.kalyanamitra.org

M cr\\hn^ wirh a phamrna M aster Teachers are the equivalent of the knowledge of life. And excellent teachers are so rare because they teach not just academics but life skills, ethics, values. The real hope of to­ morrow is threefold: the spiritual leaders, the parents, and the teachers working together in harmony for the benefit of each individual. “Then we will see change. Then we will see moral progress.” It is now 11:00pm. Luang Por is not visibly tired, but it is clearly understood that there will be no more questions tonight. After we bow to the Teacher, we all stand. He comes over to us, looks at me, and smiles. “And you will write a book about this, because that is what the world needs. The best you can do is put it out there and hope that the world is willing to listen.” www.kalyanamitra.org 143

Meetings with a Dhamma M aster APPENDIX www.kalyanamitra.org

huzanne Je ffretj 146 www.kalyanamitra.org

DHAMMAKAYA MEDITATION (Referenced from Luang Por Dattajeevo’s book, Man’s Personal Transformation, printed ! Y ^ 2005. Notes interjected for clarity.) hv Dhammakaya Meditation For Beginners: i; - By deepening your meditation until your mind comes to a standstill, you can unlock the Y/;.v potential and unused ability within. n* By maintaining a balance of mindfulness and happiness, you are bringing contentment and direction to life in a way not possible through any other technique. Before starting, it is necessary to acquaint yourself with the various resting points or bases of the mind inside the body. The first base: at the rim of the nostril, on the right side for men and on the left side for women. The second base: at the bridge of the nose at the comer of the eye - on the right side for men and on the left side for women. The third base: at the center of the head. The fourth base: at the roof of the mouth. The fifth base: at the center of the throat above the Adam’s apple. W, The sixth base: at a point in the center of the body or, at the meeting point of an imaginary line between the navel through the back and the line between the two sides. [NOTE: ! ave also used the imaginary point which is at the bottom of your deepest breath, in the middle of your stomach.] The seventh base: at a point two finger widths above the sixth base. This base is the most important point in the body. It is the very center of the body and the point where the mind can come to a complete standstill. www.kalyanamitra.org 147 :;

Suzanne Jeffreij Step-By-Step introductions fo r the meditation tedinicjue: The Seven Bases o f the Mind. 1. The sitting posture, which has been found to be the most conducive for meditation, is the half-lotus position. [Note: If this is not possible, then sit comfortably on a chair.] Sit upright with your back and spine straight, and if sitting on the floor, then your legs should be cross-legged with your right leg over the left one. You can sit on a cushion or pillow to make your position more comfortable. Nothing should impede your breathing or circulation. Your hands should rest with the palms ups, on your lap, and the tip of your right index finger should touch your left thumb. Feel as if you are one with the ground on which you sit: Feel as if you could sit happily for as long as you like. 2. Softly close your eyes as if you were falling asleep. Relax every part of your body, beginning with the muscles of your face, then move on to relax your neck, shoul­ ders, arms, chest, body, and legs until you reach your toes. Be sure to check that there are no signs of tension on your forehead or across your shoulders. 3. (This step may take a little practice because for some people it does not feel natural. But remember that we are building an environment around us that is going to help us have meditation sessions that are extremely productive. So give it a try!) Close your eyes and stop thinking about the things of the world. Feel as if you are sitting alone - around you there is nothing and no one. Create a feeling of happiness and spaciousness in your mind. Very slowly, imagine a ball of light going from the first base of the mind to the seventh. Breathe in, imagining the ball of light at the first base, breathe out. Do this three times. Then move on to the second base, repeating the breaths for three times. Breathe in and out for three times at each base until you have reached the seventh base where you will stay during the meditation session. 4. Feel that your body is empty space, without organs, muscles or tissues. Gently and contentedly rest your attention at a point near to the seventh base of the mind and at the center of the body. Whatever experience arises, simply observe without attempt­ ing to interfere or react. In this way, your mind will become gradually purer and an inner experience will unfold. 5. If you find that you cannot dissuade the mind from wandering, then perhaps you could try using an inner object as a focus for attention. Therefore, if you would like, gently imagine that a bright, clear, crystal ball, [NOTE: or a star, bubble, cross, 148 www.kalyanamitra.org

flower or something wholesome that you can easily remember.] is located inside at the center of the body. Maybe you will find you can imagine nothing, but later you will be able to visualize or even see something with increasing clarity. Allow your mind to come to a rest at the very center of the object that you imagined. By using the slightest amount of effort, you will find that this object becomes brighter and clearer. Balance is the key. If you use too much effort, you will find that it gives you tension, or perhaps even a headache. If you use too little, you will be unable to sustain it. So you must use just a small amount of effort on this task. 6. If you find that your mind still wanders from the object, you can bring the mind back to a standstill by repeating a mantra [NOTE: Many practitioners use “Samma- Araham”10] 7. Do not entertain thoughts in your mind. Do not analyze what is going on in your meditation. Allow your mind to come to a standstill on its own - that is all you need to do! If you find that you cannot imagine anything, do not be disturbed. Simply try to repeat the mantra, “Samma-Araham” softly, silently and continuously in the mind. If you find that you are not sure about the location in the center of the body, anywhere in the area of the stomach will do. If that is not working, then go to wherever feels right, but remember that the eventual goal is in the center. Do not be disheartened. Persevere, because today’s daydream is tomorrow’s still mind, today’s darkness is tomorrow’s inner brightness, today’s perseverance is tomorrow’s fulfillment. Don’t be disappointed if you find your mind wandering. It is only natu­ ral, especially for beginners. Make a continuous effort, keep your mind bright, clear r and pure, and in the end, you will achieve your goal! 8. Keep repeating the mantra and eventually the sound of the words will fall away. At that point, if you are continuously still and relaxed, something will arise on its own accord. This stage is called pathama magga (primary path). At this stage the mind is becoming more stable and is seated at the center of the body. Happiness is one of the side effects of this state.. With continuous observation at the center of this r object, it will give way to a succession of increasingly more pure and refined sheaths of “being” until it reaches the ultimate one referred to as “Dhammakaya”, where we discover our true permanent selves and the happiness found there. 10 Samma-Araham or Samma Arahang: Taking the path to freedom from the suffering of life; the Middle Way. 149 www.kalyanamitra.org

Suzanne Jeffrey This meditation technique was re-discovered, and then taught, by Luang Pu Sodh Wat PakNam, the Abbot of Wat PakNam in Bangkok, Thailand. This rediscovery happened in 1914. His “best” student was a Master Nun, Khun Yai, who passed it along to the current Abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Luang Por Dhammajayo. Now, however, they do not always teach this method to Westerners, because they feel that meditation should simply be focusing on stillness. Luang Pu stated: “Stillness of the mind is the embodi­ ment of success in meditation”, therefore, any way in which you can still your mind at the center of the body will lead you to achieving success in meditation. Because of this, I am including the steps in meditations that the monks taught at the Wat and ones that do not specifically discuss the Seven Bases of the Mind. Dhammakatja Guided Meditation: Extrapolated Erom Retreats and What Has Helped Me: 1. Begin your meditation by doing some light stretching exercises. These can include simple neck rolls, gently swinging your arms across your body, easy yoga stretches, standing up and reaching down to touch the finger tips or your palms to the floor, or whatever types of stretches that make you feel relaxed and comfortable, especially ones that open up your back, hips, and backs of legs. Always take your time because the ultimate goal is for you to feel limber and light, stress-free and peaceful. 2. Sit down either on a mat, pillow, rug, or chair. If you sit on the floor, the half-lotus is a preferred position, and that means that your legs should be crossed with your right leg over your left, the sole of your right foot facing upward toward the ceiling. If you prefer using a chair, then both feet should be placed on the floor, and a pillow or cushion might be used for the comfort of your back and to help you sit straighter for a longer period of time. Sitting with your back straight helps you breathe easily. 3. Rest your hands comfortably in your lap or on your legs. At the Wat, there is a pre­ ferred position for the hands which is to place your palms up, right palm covering your left palm, with your right index finger touching your left thumb. To help with your posture, you may even put a pillow over your lap with your hands resting on the pillow. This also helps to prevent leaning forward white meditating. 4. Gently close your eyes. This part is extremely important. There is so much ten­ sion in and around your eyes that if you properly relax them, the rest of your body becomes much easier to relax. Therefore, when closing your eyes, you want your 150 www.kalyanamitra.org

eyelashes to lightly touch your cheeks, as though you are falling asleep. (Please do \\ , not force your eyelids closed or squeeze them shut because that causes tension in | ^ - this area, as well as other areas, of your body.) In closing your eyes, you are effec- b tively shutting out all of the stuff that is out there trying to grab your attention. You ! are, in fact, going to begin looking at your inner space, not your outer space. i 5. As you gently close your eyes, begin to smile from the inside. Make an effort to feel r this new sensation of relaxation sweep through your body. Do not worry about fall- il 1 ing asleep or losing control of your outside. Just smile, knowing that this personal \" space you have created for yourself is vitally important for your own well-being and p . V that you now have the opportunity to enjoy some solitude. i: 6. Once you are initially relaxed, your eyes are closed, and you are smiling, take a few deep breaths. Slowly inhale for a few seconds and fill up your lungs really well. Hold that breath and then ever so slowly release it. Try to take your time by using several seconds to release your breath. This deep breathing helps your body truly relax, and it helps you begin to find your inner center, or comfort zone, which will eventually rest right around the base of your deepest inhalation. This center point is the home of the mind. Continue to breathe deeply for a few minutes until you actually sense your physical body relaxing even more. And, then, breathe normally. Focus now on that center point until you gain confidence that you can find that point again when you need to still your mind. 7. This next step I call “Dumping Your Garbage”. You can also call this “Cleaning Your Mind”. Once you are relaxed and beginning to get comfortable, various thoughts or visuals might appear. Most people tend to think and think and think - endlessly - and if you don’t think, you believe that this is a troublesome sign - or that, some­ how, your mind will stop working or (even worse) be taken over by something. It’s kind of like the old adage: Idle hands are a devil’s workshop - except this is taken to mean idle minds are a devil’s workshop. So you think, and think, and think. There is nothing wrong with thinking, of course, but you usually think about the wrong things, or things that are not really beneficial. Much of what surrounds you is nega­ tive news: i.e., gossip or chatter. This is why Luang Por says that in cleaning your mind through meditation, you are wiping away some of the negative energy that surrounds you as well as cleansing what negativity has already affected you. 8 . Right here, I would like to say that IF you need some help because you are thinking too much, then you may need a mantra. A mantra is simply a word or phrase that is www.kalyanamitra.org 151